Amazon's not resting on its laurels with its Kindle. While its low-powered e-ink display makes for an excellent paper-like reading experience, passive e-ink displays are not well equipped for tasks other than reading. Given the rise of tablets, Amazon's first steps was to get their content on there - example being their Kindle app for iOSand Android. The next step for them was to open their own App Store for Android devices. What's missing from this equation? Their own tablet, of course.

That one will be here sometime in the second half of this year. According to DigiTimes (via AppleInsider), Amazon has placed orders with Quanta, a well-known Taiwanese manufacturer of computing hardware for companies such as RIM and Sony. The tablet loses the e-ink display in favour of a LCD screen, and will have fringe field switching technology. The tablet will have an initial order number set at 700,000 to 800,000 units.

No details were released on which operating system it will run. For now, it is expected they will stick to the same Kindle platform, given Amazon's recent call for more developers to also develop for Kindle.

Amazon is reportedly planning to put focus on the tablet in lieu of the Kindle by offering further discounts to attract more demand, especially outside the Kindle's stronghold markets in North America and Europe.